Blagojevich defiantly taps former attorney general for Obama's Senate seat

Tuesday

Dec 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 30, 2008 at 1:10 AM

In a surprise move Tuesday, beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed former state Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Illinois’ vacant U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich said he made the selection, amid federal corruption charges that he tried to sell the seat, so Illinois would have two senators in Washington next term.

Brian Hudson

In a surprise move Tuesday, beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed former state Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Illinois’ vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Blagojevich said he made the selection, amid federal corruption charges that he tried to sell the seat, so Illinois would have two senators in Washington next term.

“As governor, I am required to make this appointment,” Blagojevich said in a press conference at the Thompson Center in Chicago. “If I don’t make this appointment, then the people of Illinois will be deprived of their appropriate voice and vote.”

Blagojevich called the 71-year-old Burris, who is also a former state comptroller and now a lawyer with his own political consulting firm, a man of experience and “unquestioned integrity.”

“Please don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man,” said Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9 on charges of solicitation of bribery and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He also is facing possible impeachment in the Illinois General Assembly.

The road ahead is uncertain for Burris’ appointment.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said Tuesday he will not certify the appointment. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a press release saying that because of the shadow cast on Blagojevich’s integrity, the Democratic Caucus would not seat Burris.

Blagojevich and Burris did not offer specifics Tuesday on how they would respond to the obstacles facing the appointment.

“We’ll have to determine that when we get to that point,” Burris said of Senate Democrats opposing his appointment.

Blagojevich, meanwhile, said he was “confident and certain” the Senate will seat Burris in light of his qualifications.

“This is about Roland Burris as a United States senator,” Blagojevich said. “Not about the governor who makes the appointment.”

Until Tuesday, it was uncertain whether Blagojevich would appoint a successor for the seat, which was vacated in November by President-elect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich settled on filling the seat after the Illinois General Assembly dropped plans to hold a special election for a new U.S. senator, he said.

Burris said he and Blagojevich discussed the appointment Dec. 28. When accepting the selection Tuesday, he spoke about a crossroads facing the country.

“The United States is confronted with a crisis of faith in our own leadership capability and our abilities to bring understanding to nations who look to us for peace and prosperity,” said Burris, who was Illinois’ attorney general from 1991 to 1995. “Faced with these challenges and challenged with these crises, it is incomprehensible that the people of the great state of Illinois will enter the 111th Congress shorthanded.”

Obama issued a statement Tuesday saying he is standing by the decision of Senate Democrats not to approve any appointment made by Blagojevich.

“Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat,” Obama said in his statement. “I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Gov. Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Gov. Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy.”

If Burris’ appointment goes through, he also would succeed Obama as the only black U.S. senator. It was a fact noted by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-1st, of Chicago at the news conference.

“My prayers have been answered, because I prayed thoroughly that the governor would continue the legacy established by President-elect Obama and that the governor would appoint an African-American,” Rush said.

He said he believes Burris to be the most qualified for the seat.

“I would ask you not to hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer,” he said.

Burris is a native of Centralia. After graduating from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he earned a law degree from Howard University School of Law. In 1978 he became the first black in Illinois elected to statewide office when he was named state comptroller.

He ran unsuccessfully for governor three times, including against Blagojevich in 2002. Obama supported Burris over Blagojevich for governor in 2002.

Contact Brian Hudson at bhudson@mysuburbanlife.com.

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